The Chalukya dynasty was a Classical Indian royal dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynasty, known as the “Badami Chalukyas”, ruled from Vatapi (modern Badami) from the middle of the 6th century.

Art and Architecture:

• The Chalukyas were great patrons of art.
• They developed the vesara style in the building of structural temples. However, the vesara style reached its culmination only under the Rashtrakutas and the Hoysalas.
• The structural temples of the Chalukyas exist at Aihole, Badami and Pattadakal. Cave temple architecture was also famous under the Chalukyas.
• Their cave temples are found in Ajanta, Ellora and Nasik. The best specimens of Chalukya paintings can be seen in the Badami cave temple and in the Ajanta caves. The reception given to a Persian embassy by Pulakesin II is depicted in a painting at Ajantha.
• The Chalukya temples may be divided into two stages.
• The first stage is represented by the temples at Aihole and Badami. Among the seventy temples found at Aihole, four are important.
  • Ladh Khan temple is a low, flat-roofed structure consisting of a pillared hall.
  • Durga temple resembles a Buddha Chaitya.
  • Huchimalligudi temple.
  • The Jain temple at Meguti.
• Among the temples at Badami, the Muktheeswara temple and the Melagutti Sivalaya are notable for their architectural beauty.
• A group of four rock-cut temples at Badami are marked by high workmanship. The walls and pillared halls are adorned by beautiful images of gods and human beings.
• The second stage is represented by the temples at Pattadakal. There are ten temples here, four in the northern style and the remaining six in the Dravidian style.
• The Papanatha temple is the most notable in the northern style. The Sangamesvara temple and the Virupaksha temple are famous for their Dravidian style. The Virupaksha temple is built on the model of the Kailasanatha temple at Kanchipuram.

Literature:

• The Aihole inscription of Pulakeshin II (634) written by his court poet Ravikirti in Sanskrit language and Kannada script is considered as a classical piece of poetry.
• A few verses of a poet named Vijayanaka who describes herself as the “dark Sarasvati” have been preserved.
• Famous writers in Sanskrit from the Western Chalukya period are Vijnaneshwara who achieved fame by writing Mitakshara, a book on Hindu law, and King Someshvara III, a noted scholar, who compiled an encyclopedia of all arts and sciences called Manasollasa.
• From the period of the Badami Chalukyas, references are made to the existence of Kannada literature, though not much has survived.
• The Kappe Arabhatta record of c. 700 in tripadi (three line) metre is the earliest available work in Kannada poetics.
• Karnateshwara Katha, which was quoted later by Jayakirti, is believed to be a eulogy of Pulakeshin II and to have belonged to this period.
• Other probable Kannada writers, whose works are not extant now but titles of which are known from independent references are Syamakundacharya, who is said to have authored the Prabhrita, and Srivaradhadeva, the possible author of the Chudamani (“Crest Jewel”), a lengthy commentary on logic.
• The rule of the Western and Eastern Chalukyas, however, is a major event in the history of Kannada and Telugu literatures respectively.
• By the 9th–10th centuries, Kannada language had already seen some of its most notable writers. The “three gems” of Kannada literature, Adikavi Pampa, Sri Ponna and Ranna belonged to this period.
• In the 11th century, Telugu literature was born under the patronage of the Eastern Chalukyas with Nannaya Bhatta as its first writer.

Conclusion:

The rule of the Chalukyas marks an important milestone in the history of South India and a golden age in the history of Karnataka. The rise of this empire saw the birth of efficient administration, overseas trade and commerce and the development of new style of architecture called “Chalukyan architecture”.